You are here: / / Doctor Who Allegedly Wrongfully Prescribed Narcotics for a Drug Addict...

Doctor Who Allegedly Wrongfully Prescribed Narcotics for a Drug Addict Who Shot Plaintiff’s Decedent in an Attempt to Steal Narcotics from a Pharmacy Did Not Owe a Duty of Care to Plaintiff’s Decedent

The Second Department determined the duty to protect persons from the criminal acts of others did not extend to plaintiff’s decedent.  Plaintiff sued a doctor who operated a pain management clinic, alleging that the doctor operated a “pill mill” and wrongfully provided drugs to a drug addict,  The drug addict shot plaintiff’s decedent during a robbery of a drug store in an attempt to steal narcotics. The court noted that there are situations in which a defendant exercises sufficient control to prevent harm to others. Here, however, in the absence of such control, the doctor owed no duty of care to plaintiff’s decedent:

“The question of whether a defendant owes a duty of care to another person is a question of law for the courts” … .

Generally, “[w]ithout a duty running directly to the injured person there can be no liability in damages, however careless the conduct or foreseeable the harm” … . Further, “there is no duty to control the conduct of third persons to prevent them from causing injury to others,’ even where, as a practical matter, the defendant could have exercised such control” … .

… Courts have imposed a duty of care “where there exist special circumstances in which there is sufficient authority and ability to control the conduct of third persons” that courts have identified a duty to exercise such control … . Thus, courts have imposed a duty to control the conduct of others “where there is a special relationship: a relationship between [the] defendant and [the] third person whose actions expose [the] plaintiff to harm such as would require [the] defendant to protect the plaintiff from the conduct of others” … .

The Supreme Court erred in denying [the doctor’s] motion to dismiss the complaint insofar as asserted against him for failure to state a cause of action. [The doctor] did not owe a duty to the decedent or to the general public because no special circumstances existed. The decedent was a stranger to [the shooter] and a member of the general public, not a member of “a determinate and identified class” … . Malone v County of Suffolk, 2015 NY Slip Op 03811, 2nd Dept 5-6-15

 

You might also like
Denial of Area Variance In the Absence of Evidence of a Detrimental Effect on the Community Was Arbitrary and Capricious
CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES RENDERED THE RECORD ON APPEAL INADEQUATE IN THIS CHILD CUSTODY CASE; MATTER SENT BACK TO FAMILY COURT FOR A HEARING (SECOND DEPT).
PLAINTIFF RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE STROKE DIAGNOSIS WAS TIMELY AND WHETHER THE FAILURE TO MAKE A TIMELY DIAGNOSIS DECREASED THE CHANCES OF A BETTER OUTCOME (SECOND DEPT).
THE RECORD DOES NOT REFLECT THAT MOTHER IN THIS CHILD-SUPPORT PROCEEDING WAS INFORMED OF HER RIGHT TO COUNSEL, HER RIGHT TO AN ADJOURNMENT TO RETAIN COUNSEL, OR HER WAIVER OF THAT RIGHT; NEW HEARING ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).
PLAINTIFF RECORDED HER DEED AND MORTGAGE PRIOR TO THE RECORDING OF A MORTGAGE BY DEFENDANT BANK, DEFENDANT BANK WAS NOT A GOOD FAITH PURCHASER IN THAT IT IS DEEMED TO HAVE PRIOR NOTICE OF PLAINTIFF’S INTERESTS, SUPREME COURT REVERSED (SECOND DEPT).
DEFENDANTS DID NOT DEMONSTRATE SURGICAL CONSENT FORM COMPLIED WITH THE ACCEPTED STANDARD OF DISCLOSURE, SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED.
A NYC REGULATION REQUIRES FOR-HIRE VEHICLES TO BE WITHIN 12 INCHES OF THE CURB WHEN PICKING UP OR DISCHARGING PASSENGERS; THE DRIVER STOPPED TWO FEET FROM THE CURB AND PLAINTIFF FELL TRYING TO GET INTO THE VEHICLE; THE NEGLIGENCE ACTION AGAINST THE UBER DRIVER SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).
PLAINTIFF’S KNEE BECAME STIFF AND IMPOSSIBLE TO BEND AFTER SURGERY; PLAINTIFF SUED THE DEFENDANT DOCTOR WHO TREATED HER AT THE POST-SURGERY REHABILITATION CENTER; THE DEFENDANT DOCTOR, WHO DID NOT PERFORM THE SURGERY, HAD CERTIFIED AND RECOMMENDED PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY FOR PLAINTIFF AT THE REHABILITATION CENTER; BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT DOCTOR PLAYED NO ROLE IN THE THERAPY ITSELF, HIS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Nothing in the Documentation Submitted to the Lender Raised Any Questions About... Bar Patron Was Beaten to Death by Other Patrons—Defendants (Bar and Premises...